Top 10 from 2010

Looking back at 2010, I realize how blessed I am. This past year, my home business has grown more than I would've imagined- it's been an amazing experience working with so many new and wonderful customers!

I decided that I would reflect back on some of my favorite items from the last year, just to see how far I've come; which, is all because of my supportive customers!

In no particular order..... drumroll please..... The "Back to School" bow... I had no reason to create this bow, other than I found the cute resins, and I wanted to design something around them. This bow inspired me to do an auction for CappsKids, of which other items were auctioned off and $60.00 was raised for this great organization!

This zebra bow was created last spring. I would have never chosen the colors together, but once I saw them I knew that it would be a great seller! GG also made a dress for Gretchen in these colors, and it's all because of this custom requested bow!

I tried to create larger bows this year, and this was a fun one that I made for the spring. I love the hot pinks, oranges, yellows, and lime green- it's just a good happy bow!

For Easter, I was asked to create an m2m bow for a customer. She sent me a picture of the dress, and I must say, that it matched perfectly! And, her little honey looked adorable! I layered an organza ribbon over a grosgrain, and added light pink and lime green surround-a-loops, with a blinged out flower in the center.

I also introduced a Minnie Mouse line this year. I started out with a pink and white Minnie, but I had a chance to create this shirt and matching bows for a customers trip to Disney. The shirt features a detachable bow, and the hair bow, features a sculpted Minnie Mouse.

Wipe Cases were also new to HPA this year, and it took me quite a bit of time to be comfortable making them. I made this one for a friend, who just had her little boy... I love the color combination of the wipe case!

I also wanted to expand on my tutu costume line, and with the help of Sara, I was able to create this Abby Cadabby outfit for her daughter! The tutu features aqua and purple, and I made pony-o's that mimic'd Abby Cadabby's hair, and a set of bows to match.

I've only had the chance to make two of these baby shower corsages- but I love them! I hope that i'll get to make more over the coming year!

Applique'd shirts also started in 2010, and I love the simplicity of this whale. For some reason, it just makes me happy- maybe it's the large polk-a-dots.

And, finally, one of my favorite shirts was this animal print combination stocking! I had started with a green damask stocking design, but once the customer asked for this one, I couldn't wait to create it!

Again, I want to thank all of my loyal customers- I can't wait for what 2011 has in store!

Crib Shoes

I'm obsessed with shoes! When Gretchen was a baby, she had over 20 pairs of shoes- a bit overkill, but seriously, what girl doesn't love their shoes!

Honey Pie Accessories is pleased to announce the addition of crib shoes to its inventory! The shoes range in sizes from 3.5" (a size 1) to 4.5" (a size 4).

Shown above: leopard shoes

Above: adorable red trimmed leopard shoes~ these are probably my favorite!

Above: slip on pink leopard shoes

Above: zebra with hot pink trim

Above: zebra with ribbon ties

If you're interested in these shoes, please check out my facebook page for more information!

~New~ Chiffon Shirts

I've been wanting to feature new items for a while on my facebook page, but it's taken me some time to find the items that I wanted and that I find appropriate for my business! I came across these on a wholesale site, and decided that these shirts would be perfect to add!

The shirts come in cotton tees sizes 0-12 months, 2T, and 3T. And, each are adorned with 5 chiffon rosettes. They're perfect for every day wear, for dress up, and for photos! Above: pink and yellow chiffon rosettes on cotton tee.

Above: red rosettes on cotton tee

Above: multi-colored rosettes on cotton tee

Above: yellow rosettes on cotton tee

Not pictured: brown rosette on cotton tee.

I also think these would look amazing with a monogram and a custom, matching tutu!

To find these shirts visit my facebook page!

Boutique Beanies!

Boutique Beanies are here!!! Beginning January 1, Honey Pie Accessories will be selling these beautiful cotton beanies for $8.00 a piece! They'll have a ribbon loop sewn onto them, so you can make them interchangeable with your little honey's hair bows!

Shown above: zebra

Shown below: cheetah

These hats also come in various other colors and fit infants through toddlers!!! They're perfect for newborns in the hospital and a fun way to accessorize any outfit!

Christmas Morning 2010

Gretchen woke up around 7 am on Christmas morning- we did placed the baby gate in her doorway, so she couldn't escape to her presents without waking us up first. We also managed to keep her in the bedrooms until DJ could get the video camera ready. When we finally let her loose, she was so excited for her kitchen set and ran straight to it! Then, she discovered her princess car from Gee and Pa and decided she wanted to sit in it to open her presents!

Thankfully, she didn't stay in there too long and began to open her other gifts- the one below is a cupcake set for her kitchen.

Her daddy bought her a princess doll collection!

I honestly can't tell you what's in this box that I'm unwrapping, but I'm sure I loved it!

Below: Gretchen opening her present from Uncle Matthew and Aunt Tiffany- a Cinderella dress up dress and slippers! Of which, she wore the rest of the day!

Pa got these wonderful boot warmers! Don't ask me why I picked these out, because later, I decided they were probably the worst gift ever!

DJ's brother-in-law and sister gave us this painted window.

And the after.... can you believe the mess we had! And this was only with one child! I can't imagine what it'll be like in the years to come!

Christmas Eve 2010

I have to say that I love Christmas more and more each year! This was our second Christmas in a row, that we were able to stay home, and even though I miss our extended family, it's very relaxing! We spent Christmas Eve doing what we wanted to do, according to our own agenda, and it was so nice!
We baked homemade chocolate chip cookies for Santa!

And, we made reindeer food using oatmeal, corn flakes, and brown sugar! My mom had actually bought a tube from the store, but when it was time to put the food out, we could not find the tube- so we decided to make our own, which was more fun anyway!

Gretchen sprinkled the reindeer food throughout our snowy front yard.

We also went to Christmas Eve service at church, and snapped a few pictures before....

Here's Gretchen with Gee and Pa.

When we walked out of Christmas Eve service, it was snowing- absolutely perfect! Then, we went driving to see Christmas lights. As soon as we got home, Gretchen changed into her Christmas nightgown- this little girl was blessed to have 3 pj's for Christmas, but she chose the nightgown! We sat cookies and milk out for Santa and told our Elf goodbye and thanked him for letting his "find" him every morning! And, tucked Gretchen into bed! I teased that it should be Christmas all of the time, because she went to bed so well!

Santa came and ate almost all of our milk and cookies, and he left us a note!

DJ got busy putting together Gretchen's kitchen set- do you see all of those screws and hardware it came with! I think he was terrified!

After an hour or so, he looked much happier and relieved as he was almost finished!

We sat everything out, and finally made it to bed around midnight to sleep until Gretchen woke up bright and early at 7 am!

I told my parents that I couldn't decide which was more fun- Christmas as a child, or Christmas as a parent. Either way, they're both fabulous, but seeing it through a child's eyes is amazing!

17 week Comparison Pictures

The 1st picture, is from me today- I'm 17 weeks and 3 days. The belly picture (why did I ever take this in my pj's w/ my shirt up?) is of when I was pregnant with Gretchen.

It looks like my belly is a little harder in the picture w/ Gretchen. Part of me wishes that I would've written down my pregnancy progress with her, but it wasn't something I thought about. I have no idea how much weight I had gained by then, but I do know I've only gained 10 thus far with baby #2. Looking at it, I feel smaller this time around versus last time! Which, believe me, is a good thing!

I'm going to try to continue taking pictures along w/ the same weeks that I have from my pregnancy with Gretchen. I think it's fun to compare the two!

Visiting Santa

Gretchen went on Tuesday to see Santa at our mall! We're very lucky to have a realistic and a patient Santa in our area! Her very first Santa experience was horrible, and last year, it wasn't that great either- she ran away from him and would not even stand beside him without me there. So, I decided that I would need to really prepare her this year.

We started talking about Santa around Thanksgiving. It just so happened that he was already at the mall on Black Friday, and we ended up shopping that afternoon. We let Gretchen look at him from behind the fence a few times, and since there were no kids in line, the workers let us go up and talk to him without getting a picture made. Gretchen wouldn't sit in his lap though, and she was very shy around him. But, she didn't cry!

Over the next few weeks, we continued to talk about Santa and that she could sit in his lap to tell him what she wanted for Christmas. She was very excited to tell him the gifts she's hoping on getting, but she continued to tell me that she would not sit on his lap.

So, the day came and we got ready to go.... this is Gretchen before we left the house. She's wearing her Santa hat applique' shirt, a m2m hair bow, and a petti' tutu. We made it to the mall, and again, there were hardly any kids in line, so we were able to take our time. Gretchen cautiously approached him, and Santa asked if she wanted to sit on his lap, to which she said no, but she did stand beside him and name off the gifts she wants. Unfortunately, she was still shy so he had no idea what she said, but he just nodded and said, 'uh huh' as she named off a few. She was still very fidgety and played with her tutu and her shirt. Finally, she stood between his feet, and took a wonderful picture with him!

We also have a train at our mall, and Gretchen had so much fun riding in it! I don't remember it being a long ride last year, so I wasn't thrilled with the amount of money it cost for a short ride, but thankfully, it seemed a bit longer this year! Gretchen chose the green car and happily rode around and around the track!

We're looking forward to Santa coming on Saturday, and hoping that he heard everything that Gretchen wants!

17 week ultrasound

We are 17 weeks and 2 days pregnant! I had a doctor's appointment yesterday, and decided to take Gretchen with me, since we had to visit Santa afterwards! My appointment was with the same doctor who delivered Gretchen, and he hadn't seen her in a very long time! He was surprised at how big she had gotten.

This particular doctor is one of my favorites, and I was glad to see him, as I had a few questions for him. First, I decided that I have to get my butt back in gear and start working out again! So, I wanted to see what was safe to do. I was so tired during my 1st trimeseter, and then so busy with the holidays, but I'm determined to start back next week! I was glad to hear that I can do everything that I was doing before, just to stop if I feel like I'm working too hard.

My next question, was concerning the sequential screen that occurs in the 2nd trimester. We went through with the 1st trimester screening, mostly so we could have an early ultrasound. Which, turned out to be a blessing, because even though the test results came back normal, the perinatalogist noticed that the baby's intestines were not all the way inside of the baby. He informed us that we still had a few more weeks, but to try not to worry.

I did well not worrying unless I had time to think about it, and then I became nervous. If the baby's intestines were out, then that would mean a c-section, and surgery for the baby immediately after delivery. Plus, I had to decide whether or not to do the screening for the 2nd trimester- would some other condition accompany the current one?

Our doctor agreed that I could have an ultrasound, and if something were wrong, that I would go ahead and have the 2nd screening, but if everything was okay, then I would most likely not go through with it.

I called DJ and he was able to meet us for the ultrasound. Here's a first glimpse at our baby in 4-D. And, in this picture, we can see the baby's skull, belly, arms, and legs, and if you notice above the belly, there is NOTHING hanging out! So, the intestines are fully inside! What a miracle!! The baby also had one arm by its side and the other arm on top of its belly.

We asked the ultrasound tech. if it was too early to tell the gender, and she took a quick glance, and told us what she suspects, but she will not confirm anything until our next ultrasound on January 18th- so, you all have to wait until then as well!

Our doctor also let Gretchen help to find the baby's heartbeat with the doppler, and after 3 misplaces of the doppler, she finally found it!

I have more energy than I did a few weeks ago, and I don't think "nesting" has set in, but I did organize our closet today! I'm able to feel the baby move, but mostly in heavy weight shifts, rather than fluttering. I've learned that I'll have to watch my sodium intake as well- after a little bit of increased sodium last week, I was swollen the next day- so, I need to be careful, because I was so swollen with Gretchen! I'm craving apple juice in the evenings or milk, and really cold water. I've gained 10 lbs, which, isn't as bad as I had expected at this point, but I'm hoping I can stay under my weight gain that I had with Gretchen (about 45 lbs.)

We do have names picked out, and we'll announce those when we announce the gender next month! I'm excited to have a confirmation and to start planning the nursery! And, in about 22 more weeks, we'll meet our new little baby!

January Giveaway!

It has been several months since I have been able to do a giveaway on my blog. I'm thankful that I've had tons of custom orders to keep me from making bows, but I'm hoping that in the new year, i'll be able to get back to my original crafting of hair bows.

I am in love with this snowman ribbon, as it makes some of the cutest bows!

So, I'm giving one away FREE to one of my readers!

How to Enter:

1. Follow my blog. (1 entry)

2. "Like" my facebook page. (1 entry)

3. Tell me what you like best about winter time. (1 entry)

4. Join the "Bow of the Month" club via my facebook site (5 entries).

Make sure that you leave a seperate comment for each entry, and have your email address in at least one of your entries.

The giveaway will end on January 12th. The winner will be notified by email for the shipping address.

Good luck!

A few Christmas photos

We were finally able to get out and enjoy the snow that has been blanketing the ground for the last week! I didn't take my camera out in the snow, but I did manage to get a picture of Gretchen (and Bailey) before we headed out! She had a blast sledding with daddy, and even mommy on a few of the smaller hills, and making snow angels! We headed to church this morning, with Gretchen wearing one of her dresses that her Gee bought her! She's finally to the age where she will pose for a picture, although, her poses aren't exactly the "norm".... I think this is her ballerina pose:

And, while she was cooperating, we snapped a picture of Gretchen with daddy.

And, of her with me! Thankfully, she's at an angle where you can't really see my 16 (almost 17) week pregnant belly!